A New Military

With the end of the Cold War between the East and West in Europe, it is
frustrating that we should now be witnessing so many “hot” wars in the
form of intrastate conflict in so many regions of the world. The main
victims are civilians—the endangered species of modern day conflict.

It
is no wonder that the military should be regarded as the enemy, the
purveyors of violence. In many cases, anyone in uniform is feared and
looked upon with considerable suspicion by the population—even the
United Nations peacekeepers. But the military have a unique potential
to provide the sense of security people long for.

If there is to
be peace, it will not evolve from a mere absence of war. Peace comes
only when the structures of peaceful co-existence are in place; where
there is peace of mind that enables people to live peaceably with their
neighbors—communally, nationally, and internationally–free of
tension, fear, and the sense of being constantly under threat. When
these criteria do not exist, there will always be potential for
unrest and violence.

Military solutions, such as enforced peace,
do not fulfill these fundamental requirements, but the military do have
the skills, the technical capabilities, the infrastructure, and
logistical assets that can contribute to the building of peace. This
requires a change of mindset by the military, but it does not call for
radical adjustments to their role. The attributes they have to offer
are attributes that they also require for their traditional military
purposes.

While accepting that the primary role of the military
is defense of national security, there are other, equally appropriate
roles. I set these out as:

a. Peacekeeping/peacebuilding

b. Disaster relief

c. Environmental security

Peacekeeping and building

In
nearly all UN operations, safeguarding of the civil and human rights of
the civil population caught up in the violence has been as much the
task of the peacekeeper as that of ending the fighting. More recently
in Bosnia, Somalia, and Rwanda, a parallel humanitarian aid operation
has been a major aspect of these UN operations. The contribution that
the military can make to the success of such aid programs is immense,
both within their own capacity and in facilitating the safe
distribution of aid.

Disaster relief

Over
the years, military forces from many countries have quickly responded
to the calls for help following major natural disasters. Their
advantage over civil rescue operations is that they can move rapidly by
air, land, or sea, and possess the infrastructure required for
immediate siting of the essential services under a single command and
control system. Earth-moving machinery, medical teams and tented
hospitals, communication and transport units, food and water can all be
flown or parachuted to the site within a short space of time.

Environmental security

The
military has an important contribution to make to the welfare of the
environment. Since conflict often originates from the environmental and
ecological consequences of natural disasters and human mismanagement,
the infrastructuring expertise and technology possessed by the Armed
Forces should be utilized to their full potential to combat
environmental hazards.

In short, while retaining their
traditional role, the military can also provide a valuable service to
the community. A soldier joining the Armed Forces would do so with the
knowledge that her role involves much broader responsibilities than
just those of war fighting.

This article is published posthumously with permission from Eirwen Harbottle. Brigadier General Michael Harbotte
(1917-1997) was a former Chief of Staff of the UN Peacekeeping forces
in Cyprus. He wrote a number of books on international peacekeeping,
including the Peacekeeper's Handbook, which the UN and more than 70
countries have used as an instrumental manual for peacekeeping
operations. In 1983, he established the Centre for International
Peacebuilding with his wife Eirwen.